(Sharecast News) - US stocks rallied into the close on Friday despite a subdued start as investors went bargain-hunting before the month-end following a poor February performance on equity markets.
Ongoing uncertainties around potential trade tariffs and a tumultuous meeting between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky weren't enough to dent risk appetite in afternoon trade.
The Dow finished 1.4% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both jumped 1.6%.
As of Thursday's close, the S&P 500 had fallen in five of the preceding six trading sessions, losing a total of 4.6%. Even with Friday's gain, the index has dropped 1.4% for the month.
A tense meeting between Trump and Zelensky was cut short on Friday afternoon following a heated exchange at the Oval Office. Zelensky urged Trump not to trust the words of Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with whom the US president said he has a close relationship with, while Trump said that Zelensky was "gambling with World War III".
The meeting ended early without the signing of a mineral-rights deal. Trump posted on his socials that the Ukrainian premier "disrespected the United States of America".
Economic data in focus
In economic data, US personal consumption expenditures growth eased to 2.5% on an annualised basis in January, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, down from 2.6% in December. At the core level, which strips out volatile food and energy, prices were also 2.6% higher year-on-year, down from December's 2.9% increase.
The report also revealed that personal income ticked up 0.9% month-on-month, the most in a year, while personal spending was down 0.2% when compared to December, falling for the first time in almost two years.
In other news, the ISM's Chicago Business Barometer increased for the second consecutive month, rising 6.0 points to 45.5, its highest level since September and well above the 40.6 pencilled in by analysts. However, the prices paid sub-index jumped 16.9 points - the largest monthly increase in nearly 70 years - taking the measure to its highest since August 2022.
Elsewhere on the macro front, wholesale inventories advanced 0.7% month-on-month to $905.0bn in January, according to a preliminary reading from the Census Bureau, bouncing back from December's downwardly revised 0.4% decrease and ahead of market expectations for a softer 0.1% uptick. On an annualised basis, wholesale inventories were up 1.1%.
Market movers
Nvidia rose strongly, attempting to rebound after heavy losses the previous session after investors were underwhelmed with a strong earnings report. The revenue beat for its past quarter was the smallest in two years.
Microsoft finished higher on the same day it announced it is shutting down its voice and video-conferencing product Skype in May as it focuses on the more popular Teams offering. Meanwhile, investors were continuing to focus on comments made by president Brad Smith who on Thursday urged Trump not to go ahead with export caps on AI chips, which he says would present "a gift to China's rapidly expanding AI sector".
Dell Technologies and NetApp both dropped after missing revenue forecasts, while Duolingo tanked as guidance for the current quarter missed consensus estimates.
Dow Jones - Risers
3M Co. (MMM) $155.12 3.06%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $622.29 2.35%
American Express Co. (AXP) $300.96 2.30%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.80 2.24%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $264.65 2.16%
Visa Inc. (V) $362.71 1.96%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $98.61 1.88%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $92.25 1.84%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $396.60 1.62%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $258.49 1.45%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.68 -8.50%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $396.99 -1.53%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.73 -0.86%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $64.11 -0.85%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.11 -0.83%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.43 -0.74%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $308.33 -0.52%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.10 -0.39%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $252.44 -0.31%
S&P 500 - Risers
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $29.00 20.18%
AES Corp. (AES) $11.59 11.66%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $54.65 7.18%
Edison International (EIX) $54.44 6.04%
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $147.81 5.32%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.84 5.29%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.72 4.66%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $46.10 4.49%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $82.94 4.08%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $100.39 3.88%
S&P 500 - Fallers
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $99.81 -19.61%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $16.55 -9.81%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $199.43 -8.66%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.68 -8.50%
HP Inc (HPQ) $30.87 -6.82%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $158.07 -6.28%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $76.74 -6.20%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $124.92 -6.12%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.63 -6.06%
Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $175.25 -5.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $54.65 7.18%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $114.31 3.08%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,373.64 2.89%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $363.57 2.80%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $71.16 2.67%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $75.73 2.59%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $296.91 2.55%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $115.81 2.18%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $269.69 1.94%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $235.69 1.77%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.33 -16.80%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $16.55 -9.81%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $199.43 -8.66%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.68 -8.50%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $158.07 -6.28%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $76.74 -6.20%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $124.92 -6.12%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.63 -6.06%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $708.84 -4.76%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.35 -4.71%
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